A scheduled closed-door meeting of the Honolulu Ethics Commission was canceled abruptly Tuesday — hours before it was to take place — after the state Office of Information Practices issued an informal opinion that called into question the validity of the meeting’s agenda.

The commission’s agenda listed one item — an executive session, or closed-door discussion, “to consult with the Commission’s attorney on questions and issues pertaining to the commission’s powers, duties, privileges, immunities and liabilities related to personnel and management matters.”

State Sen. Les Ihara (D-Moiliili-Kaimuki-Palolo) said he was troubled by the vagueness of the agenda and asked the OIP if the information on the agenda was enough to meet the public information standards of state statutes.

OIP staff attorney Liza Onuma on Monday said a review of the Ethics Commission agenda shows “the item regarding the Executive Session appears to be insufficient, as it is too broad.”

Onuma’s informal opinion went on to say “the description ‘personnel and management matters’ does not seem to adequately notify the public of what the board will actually be discussing so that they may submit testimony.”

Based on Onuma’s opinion, Ihara’s office late Monday asked the Ethics Commission staff to cancel Tuesday’s meeting and ensure future meeting notices contain enough information to allow for public testimony.

Longtime Executive Director Chuck Totto’s authority has been an active topic for the commission since Mayor Kirk Caldwell took office in 2013. In June, three Caldwell-appointed commission members pushed through a new media policy that severely curtailed what Totto and other commission staffers could tell news reporters. The change, which passed in a 5-1 vote, came a month after Corporation Counsel Donna Leong chastised Totto for comments she maintained were outside his purview.

But that new media policy was rescinded by the commission at its next meeting in July by a 4-3 vote following an outcry from media and open-government advocates.

Critics of Totto, who has been in his position for more than a decade, argue that he exerts too much control over the commission and its actions. Totto’s supporters say unhappiness with his performance is politically motivated and is coming from those who’ve run afoul of the commission over the years.

Commission staff informed the public early Tuesday afternoon that the meeting was canceled. No explanation or makeup date was given. The next regular meeting of the commission is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Nov. 18.